I just googled “THANK YOU” and up came this from Hallmark Cards:

“You know that…wonderful feeling that comes over you when someone goes out of his or her way to…welcome, treat, bless and support you? Of course, the feeling is one of gratitude and it feels even better when you give it!”

Think about that in regard to approaching God in prayer. From childhood, I was taught that there is a proper protocol for it. It’s from the scripture, “With thanksgiving make your requests…” and from that old hymn, “Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One”.

 Unless it was a dire “SOS!” call, which for good reason bypassed the protocol, I had to give equal time for both before ever uttering or even thinking of the, “Dear God, please.” It couldn’t be mantra-like, either; it had to be thoughtfully fresh every time.

Unfortunately, with all the tumult on Planet Earth in these end times, the “SOS!” calls to Heaven seem to have become the more expedient. Understandable.

However, in our daily meeting with the Lord, are we prone to just jump in with, “Dear God, please?” Although I know He delights in it, I believe our welcoming, treating, blessing and thanking Him does more for us than it does for Him.

Then, there’s our world of people. It’s obvious that human beings are naturally made to thrive on being well-treated, blessed, supported and thanked. You and I included. (Incidentally, Hallmark adds “spoiled” to that.)

All that said, the Hallmark people got it right:

GRATITUDE FEELS EVEN BETTER WHEN YOU GIVE IT.”

I AM GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU.

Esther